I did not have to pay for the repair of the timing case gasket leak. I purchased the vehicle from the local Kia dealership (Fox Kia) who had a 3,000 / 3 month warranty on the vehicle. I purchased the RX then waited 1.5 months into the warranty and discovered there was a “hiccup” between 2nd and 3rd gear. Kia said they would send it over to Harvey Lexus for repair AND they would pay for a whole new transmission if necessary. Turned out it just needed to have an electronic update on it. Works great now. Then about a month later (w 2 weeks to go on the warranty) I wanted to take it to a local garage to have it inspected. That’s when they found the oil leak. I took it back to Fox Kia and without any debate they had me take it back to the Lexus dealer for the repairs and said they would cover all costs. I drove a 2021 RX for 5 days and $3000 later, after they replaced multiple gaskets throughout, of course changed all the engine fluids and lovingly put her all back together again- she runs beautifully… except I got a canary with the deal I didn’t order.

so my question is how could that job POSSIBLY result in a chirping in the steering column??

 

Because they had to take apart some of the steering column when they removed the engine to replace the gaskets. They probably separated the lower part of the steering column shaft from the upper section.

 

Interesting.

 

I'm experiencing a similar "squeaking/chirping" noise, and I narrowed it down to the hood. The easiest way to replicate this is by closing the front doors with moderate force (while the hood is closed and latched). If I open the hood and close the front doors, the squeak/chirp is gone. If I push where the hood latch is, I can sometimes hear the squeak/chirp. I know it isn't the hood strut (had them replaced recently).

I don't believe I've heard someone else mention the hood, but wanted to share. Any advice to resolve this would be awesome (new to working on my own car)!

Update -- I can also hear a similar noise from the rear. I made sure the seats were locked in place, tested if the noise persists if the seats are folder (which it did), and when the tonneau cover is in place or removed (still persisted).

 

I only hear the chipmunk or chirping sound when driving at pretty good speeds and the steering wheel is perfectly straight. Sounds like Lexus has a real chipmunk problem in several locations!!!

 

This solved my problem, many thanks.

 

Thanks! Once I figure out what hood bumpers to adjust, I will see if this resolves the issue for me as well.

 

i had this issue on my es300h and it was coming from the right rear speaker mounted on the rear dash. The speaker itself was the problem and needed to be changed. I would hear the scratch like noise on every bump and it was the damn speaker!

 

FYi when posting to old threads that often the OP is no longer active on this site. You responded to a 10 year old post. Lexusrx5 has not posted here since 2014.
I and some other moderators would like to see threads that are incactive for more than a year to be closed for new comments as is done on some other car forums.

 

My RX350 was having the squeaking noise while driving even on a smooth road or on the freeway,. My mechanic changed the brake pads and rotors on all four wheels and inspected the suspensions to be in good order. He even test-drove with me to listen to the squeaking noise for 15 minutes and concluded that I shouldn't waste any money trying to fit it.

When I saw the post about putting some lube on the door latch and hood latch, I was skeptical to say the least. However, since it doesn't cost anything and I gave it a try by putting a dab of Vaseline on each door latch, plus the hood latch and the truck latch, wow, the squeaking noise is gone! Unbelievable! Thanks for the tip.

 

Great tip. Years ago we went to this independent Honda-Toyota specialist who as part of scheduled maintenance sprayed lithium grease on all the door, hood, and trunk latches and hinges! And listed it on the worksheet! I have never seen that listed anywhere else. Sadly, the shop is no longer around after the owner retired.

 

I have owned this thing for 8 years and NOW I learn that this isn't the dash?! How crazy. I will be using lithium grease on this today. I went out to the garage and could got the hood to squeak with the same pitch and tone. Too many car washes and self repairs done.